DCAA Compliance Software· · 10 min read
Deltek Costpoint vs Unanet GovCon for a Small Contractor
Deltek Costpoint and Unanet GovCon are the two GovCon ERPs small contractors hear about most. Here is how they differ in scope, small-business packages, pricing and time to go live, and when a small contractor needs neither yet.
When a small government contractor starts looking for a DCAA-compliant accounting system, two names come up first: Deltek Costpoint and Unanet GovCon. Both are ERPs built for government contractors, both replace the accounting software you use today, and both sell a version aimed at smaller companies. This guide is for owners and finance leads comparing the two. It covers how they differ, what each costs and how long each takes to go live, and the question that comes before either: whether a small contractor needs an ERP yet.
The short answer
Deltek Costpoint and Unanet GovCon cover the same core: project-based accounting, timekeeping, labor and indirect cost allocation, billing and reporting for government contracts. Both offer hosting built for controlled unclassified information. The differences are in scope and packaging. Costpoint lists manufacturing, supply chain and procurement in its core platform, and Deltek sells a fixed small-business package, Costpoint Essentials, with a published price and go-live. Unanet GovCon is focused on project-based services firms, adds its own GovCon CRM and proposal tools, lists manufacturing as an add-on, and does not publish pricing.
For many small contractors the bigger decision comes first. Either ERP means moving your books out of QuickBooks Online. If your books already work there and your gap is on the labor side (daily timekeeping, labor distribution and indirect rates), a compliance layer on QuickBooks Online covers what DCAA tests without a migration.
Costpoint and Unanet answer the same need in a similar way. First decide whether you need an ERP, then which one.
What Deltek Costpoint is
Deltek describes Costpoint as an ERP platform built for government contracting and defense work. The capabilities it lists include accounting and financial management, with DCAA audit support, billing and indirect rate management; time, expense and workforce management; planning and budgeting; contract management from pre-award to closeout; manufacturing; and supply chain and procurement. For contractors that handle controlled unclassified information, Deltek offers Costpoint GCCM, a hosting option it describes as meeting FedRAMP Moderate equivalency.
Costpoint Essentials is the package Deltek markets to small and growing contractors. As listed on Deltek's site in October 2026, it includes project accounting, time and expense, business intelligence, and budgeting and forecasting. It starts at $800 per month for a 10-user license, with licenses and implementation included, and Deltek states a go-live of 60 days or less. For how Costpoint compares with keeping QuickBooks Online, see WiseCost vs Deltek Costpoint.
What Unanet GovCon is
Unanet describes Unanet ERP GovCon as an ERP built around government contracting requirements. The capabilities it lists include financials, project management, time and expense, billing and collections, resource planning, and incurred cost reporting. Its FAQ says it natively handles indirect rates, cost pools and DCAA-compliant timekeeping. Unanet also sells CRM GovCon for business development and lists AI tools such as ProposalAI. For controlled unclassified information, it offers a FedRAMP Moderate cloud environment.
Unanet has a page for small GovCons "ready to grow", but no separately priced small-business package. It does not publish pricing. On timing, Unanet says most government contractors are fully live within three to six months, and many start using time and expense after two to three months.
Side by side
| Deltek Costpoint | Unanet GovCon | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | GovCon ERP for government contracting and defense work | GovCon ERP for project-based government contractors |
| Role in your system | Replaces your accounting system as the general ledger | Replaces your accounting system as the general ledger |
| Timekeeping, labor and indirect rates | Time and expense module; indirect rate management inside the ERP | Time and expense module; native indirect rates and cost pools |
| Billing and project management | Billing, contract management from pre-award to closeout, planning and budgeting | Billing and collections, project management, resource planning |
| Beyond services work | Manufacturing, supply chain and procurement in the core platform | CRM GovCon and proposal tools; an asset, inventory and manufacturing add-on |
| Hosting for controlled unclassified information | Costpoint GCCM, described as FedRAMP Moderate equivalency | FedRAMP Moderate cloud environment |
| Small-business package | Costpoint Essentials: project accounting, time and expense, business intelligence, budgeting and forecasting | No separate package; positioned for small GovCons ready to grow |
| Published price* | Costpoint Essentials: $800 per month for 10 users, licenses and implementation included. Full Costpoint: not published; quoted by users and modules, plus implementation | Not published |
| Time to go live* | Costpoint Essentials: 60 days or less, as Deltek states. Full Costpoint: not published; longer than Essentials, depending on modules | Most contractors fully live in 3 to 6 months, as Unanet states; time and expense often after 2 to 3 months |
*As published by each vendor in October 2026. Deltek does not publish full Costpoint pricing or timelines. Prices and plans change, so ask each vendor for a written quote for your user count and modules.
How they differ for a small contractor
Scope. If your operations go beyond services, with manufacturing, shop floor time or a supply chain to manage, Costpoint lists manufacturing, supply chain and procurement in its core platform; Unanet lists an asset, inventory and manufacturing add-on. Compare the two in a demo with your own processes. If you are a services firm that also wants CRM and proposal tools from the same vendor, Unanet bundles them.
Packaging and price visibility. Costpoint Essentials gives a small contractor a published starting point: a fixed set of modules, a 10-user license and a stated go-live. Unanet quotes each deal, so you will only know the cost after a sales conversation. Neither number includes the people who will run the system.
Time to go live. Costpoint Essentials states 60 days or less. Full Costpoint and Unanet both run in months. If a proposal or a pre-award review is weeks away, that timeline can decide the question on its own.
Who runs it. Either ERP needs someone who knows it: an in-house accountant or an outside firm trained on that system. Jordan Glaze puts the revenue level at which that usually becomes affordable:
"A lot of contractors believe they have to migrate when it's too early. They just need to know what tools they need to add on to QuickBooks. So instead of migrating, I recommend using the best tools available... it's time for a company to transition out of QuickBooks when the company has over 10 million or 20 million of revenue. And that's usually about the time when the company would start investing in their own internal accounting team."
Jordan Glaze, Business Development Specialist/Accountant, Wendroff & Associates, CPA
When a small contractor needs neither yet
DCAA does not require an ERP. The SF-1408, the Preaward Survey of Prospective Contractor Accounting System that DCAA uses to evaluate a contractor's accounting system, tests capabilities: separating direct and indirect costs, tracking costs by contract, timekeeping, labor distribution reconciled to payroll and the ledger, and allocating indirect costs. QuickBooks Online with a compliance layer can cover those, as we explain in Is There DCAA-Approved Software?.
Brian Wendroff, CPA, is direct about the 15-person company:
"For a 15-person contractor, moving to Deltek or Unanet usually means spending more than you need to and signing up for a headache. Unless there's a specific capability gap, it's not the right call yet."
Brian Wendroff, CPA, Co-founder of WiseCost and Managing Partner at Wendroff & Associates, CPA
Signs that an ERP is not needed yet:
- Your books already work in QuickBooks Online, and what is missing is turning time into labor cost by contract.
- You have fewer than 50 employees and a handful of contracts, around a first or second cost-type award.
- You do not need earned value, integrated government billing or procurement today.
- Cost Accounting Standards do not apply to your contracts.
Signs that it is time to compare Costpoint and Unanet seriously:
- You are past roughly 50 employees with 20 or more active contracts, or revenue is reaching $10 to $20 million and you can staff an in-house accounting team.
- You need integrated billing, earned value or procurement from the same system as your accounting.
- Cost Accounting Standards coverage applies to large cost-type contracts.
The full set of signs is in How to Choose DCAA Software for a Small GovCon. If you are weighing Unanet specifically, Is Unanet Overkill for a Small GovCon? separates what DCAA tests from what the ERP adds.
Where WiseCost fits
For a small contractor, the real choice is often less "Costpoint or Unanet" than "an ERP now, or later". WiseCost is built for the "later" path. It gives you the system DCAA tests today, on the QuickBooks Online you already run, and leaves you ready for an ERP when the business needs one.
Put the controls DCAA tests in place now. Add an ERP when the business needs the rest.
What it gives you today
- The labor controls the SF-1408 tests, without replacing your books. Daily timekeeping by contract with approvals, labor distribution posted to QuickBooks Online as a journal entry, fringe, overhead and G&A rates, and an immutable audit trail.
- A system that can be working before your next proposal or review. WiseCost connects to QuickBooks Online in about a minute, with no data migration, and one-click DCAA and Uniform Guidance presets set strict timekeeping controls from the first day.
- A cost in proportion to your size. $149 per month including 5 users, plus $15 per additional user, on top of your QuickBooks Online subscription.
- The team you already have. Your bookkeeper and CPA keep working in QuickBooks Online, and nobody has to learn an ERP yet.
What it leaves ready for later
If the business grows to the point where Costpoint or Unanet earns its cost, you arrive with the pieces an ERP implementation needs already in order: a GovCon chart of accounts and cost pools, a history of approved timesheets by contract, labor distribution and indirect rates calculated every period, and an audit trail of every change. Those are built while you grow, so the move does not have to start with a cleanup.
FAQ
The Bottom Line
Deltek Costpoint and Unanet GovCon are both full GovCon ERPs that replace your accounting system. Costpoint lists manufacturing and supply chain in its core platform and offers a priced small-business package; Unanet focuses on project-based services firms, bundles CRM and proposal tools, and quotes each deal. For a small contractor whose books already work in QuickBooks Online, the first question is whether you need an ERP today. If the gap is on the labor side, a compliance layer closes it now, and the ERP decision can wait until the business needs it.
Know your gaps before you compare ERPs. Take the free DCAA Readiness Self-Assessment, or start a 14-day free trial of WiseCost on the QuickBooks Online you already run.